Thanks, and cool suggestions. The way I see it, Batman: TAS, as groundbreaking as it was, would take influence, innovation, and critical acclaim, while SpongeBob would take impact, popularity, and cultural significance. Batman excels in the influence criterion probably as much as SpongeBob does in popularity. So, it seems pretty close to me, overall.

As for Betty Boop vs. Beavis and Butt-head, Betty certainly takes influence (for being such an early, seminal cartoon), and B&B probably take innovation (for their juvenile, explicit characterizations -- plus their foray into the music video medium), and then they seem pretty much neck-and-neck in the other criteria. So, again, it looks like a close match.

It's a bit tough between Betty Boop and Beavis & Butthead. B&B definitely had a massive influence on the more crude and adult direction cartoons have taken in the past 20 years.

Betty Boop though, while today she's mostly a character who appears on t shirts that girls wear despite never seeing a single one of her shorts, her influence on animation can't be denied.

She was the first major star for the Fleischer bros studio (who were Disney's main rival in the the 20s and 30s) and for a time her popularity rivaled Mickey Mouse. The hays code that was established in June, 1934 was her undoing, forcing her to lose many of the character traits that made her an icon, and that lead to her decline in popularity and Popeye stealing her thunder.

But her shorts from 1932 to 1934 were masterpieces of surreal, rubber hose animation and helped establish the Fleischer bros as a powerhouse in 1930s animation that only Disney surpassed. Her shorts were very ahead of their time, they touched on sexual themes that were quite controversial for the period.

But they're very influencial in animation too. The Fleischer bros practically invented the groundbreaking technique of rotoscoping and the Betty Boop shorts in particular feature use of it that is still very impressive to look at today. Their shorts were very groundbreaking in the expressiveness of their animation (even without use of rotoscoping) and for their very surreal and trippy imagery. And for their masterful syncing of animation with music. The use of jazz and ragtime music was also something that set them apart from Disney.

Everyone from Bob Clampett to Tex Avery to Osamu Tezuka to Ralph Bakshi to John Kricfalusi is highly influenced by the Fleischer style. As are cartoonists like Robert Crumb.

How about The Huckleberry Hound Show for the top 50? He's the first of the iconic Hanna-Barbera characters (not including Tom and Jerry). His show is also where Yogi Bear made his debut before he got his own spinoff show.

And it was the first Hanna-Barbera production to become a true success, playing a major role in Hanna-Barbera becoming the dominant force in TV animation in the 1960s.

How about The Huckleberry Hound Show for the top 50? He's the first of the iconic Hanna-Barbera characters (not including Tom and Jerry). His show is also where Yogi Bear made his debut before he got his own spinoff show.

And it was the first Hanna-Barbera production to become a true success, playing a major role in Hanna-Barbera becoming the dominant force in TV animation in the 1960s.

Hmmm, Astro Boy really should be top ten or fifteen, considering he's almost like Japan's Micky Mouse.

Space Ghost: Coast to Coast should be pretty high for innovating the reuse of cells to create something new. This influence is limited to the Adult Swim Glory days, but I still feel like it's a really important innovation.

Something you should think about adding: Kimba: The White Lion, gigantic influence on The Lion King.

Floyo Mounier wrote:

Sorry, but, am I really the only one who thinks Tom and Jerry is EASILY the #1 most important cartoon of all time?

Yes, you are. It owes a lot to early Merry Melodies/Loony Toons. I think Loony Toons and Silly Symphonies/Disney shorts are neck and neck for the number one spot.

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